Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of hydrosol extracts obtained by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) of Daucus muricatus L.

Chemical compositions and antioxidant activity of hydrosol extracts of roots, aerial parts, stems, leaves and flowers of Daucus muricatus L. obtained by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) were reported for the first time. Gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses of hydrosol extracts showed only oxygenated compounds: thirty-six monoterpenes, fifteen sesquiterpenes, eight phenylpropanoids, eighteen non-terpenic compounds and one diterpene. Antioxidant activity was evaluated as free radical-scavenging capacity (RSC). RSC was assessed by measuring the scavenging activity of hydrosol extracts on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil (DPPH). The best antioxidant activity was exhibited by flower and root hydrosol extracts at low concentrations (more than 100% at 20 mu g/mL). Hydrosols produced by roots and aerial parts exhibited high contents of alcohol and phenolic compounds. However, a high result of ferric reducing antioxidant power for all hydrosol extracts tested was observed.